


‘Cause We’re Tiny Pieces Fitting Gently

by nilshki



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, M/M, Nightmares, Other, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27284617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nilshki/pseuds/nilshki
Summary: Monsters don’t scare Christopher Diaz. But other things do.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 151
Collections: Buddie Trick or Treat





	‘Cause We’re Tiny Pieces Fitting Gently

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Marcia Elena (marciaelena)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marciaelena/gifts).



> A trick? A treat? You said you like domestic stuff and family feels and I think this counts! I hope the lovely [Marcia Elena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marciaelena/pseuds/Marcia%20Elena) enjoys this fic!
> 
> Huge thanks to beta readers [ MasterERose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterERose/pseuds/MasterERose) and [ToughPaperRound](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToughPaperRound/pseuds/ToughPaperRound)
> 
> Title is from [Skeletons by W. Darling](https://open.spotify.com/track/2TOvjdy4sEQgVFVXva3ZTz?si=mWbb04jySEmQnx29mlioVw)

Sometimes it was Abuela who told him about monsters. She spoke of La Llorona, her grief and her wailing. Her haunting. She put him to bed when he slept over, singing after she told the stories. 

Sometimes it was Daddy. When they had campouts in the backyard, holding a flashlight up to his face as he whispered about the swamp monsters. 

Those stories never scared Christopher. He would listen with rapt attention. Gasp in the right places. Cry along with Abuela when she sang. Shriek and giggle when his father mimicked an attacking reptile. He loved those stories. 

He knew there were scarier things in the world. 

He knew mothers left, he knew they died.

He knew the sea could disappear and then rush back with a terrifying force. He knew friends could get lost, separated.

He knew dads could come home hurt and bruised and lying. And that friends could disappear again, leave for a little, just like mothers. 

Those things scared him. 

He wished his dreams would go back to being about skeletons falling down the stairs. That instead of rising water and cars crashing over and over, he could dream of werewolves and vampires chasing him. He’d wake up scared, but at least he wouldn’t be scared of anything real. At least his dad’s face wouldn’t crumple when he heard about Christopher’s dream. At least he would know that in the morning things wouldn’t seem as scary.

**

Eddie woke with a start, his heart pounding. He wasn’t sure why until he heard another yell from Christopher’s room. 

He jumped out of bed and ran as fast as he could. He opened the door to see Christopher still asleep, tossing and turning, moaning. The boy yelled again, “Help!” and Eddie’s heart broke. He rushed to kneel beside the bed, putting his hand on Christopher’s shoulder to gently wake him. 

“Hey buddy, c’mon wake up for me, okay? It’s just a dream, I promise it’s just a dream…” He kept murmuring assurances even as Christopher’s eyes shot open and he sat up fast as a bullet. Eddie held back tears as his son looked around wildly before his eyes met Eddie’s. 

“Daddy? You’re here?”

“Yes son, I’m here. You’re okay.”

Christopher gripped him tight and burrowed his face in Eddie’s shoulder. “It was just a dream?” he asked his father.

Eddie rubbed circles on Christopher’s back. “Yeah Chris, it was just a dream.” He lowered his head to Christopher’s shoulder. “Just a dream.”

**

Chris tossed and turned, too scared to fall asleep. He’d had a nightmare every day this week, all about the tsunami. It started the same way every time. He was with Buck on the pier. Mom was there too, with her pretty yellow dress. They all sat on a bench, and Mom played with Christopher’s hair while he smiled up at Buck, who was telling stories about their amazing rescues. 

And suddenly, Buck would be swept away by a rush of water, and Christopher felt himself tumble and spin around, his lungs hurting from being unable to breathe.

Sometimes he would wake up just from that, with Dad either by his bed or his footsteps rushing down the hall, telling Chris to just breathe.

Sometimes the dreams went longer though. And got worse. He would see his mother spinning around in the water too, crying for help, but he couldn’t reach her in time because his legs wouldn’t kick. By the time he got to her, somehow already on dry land, she was lying in the street, unmoving, unseeing. Gone.

And Buck. Buck would have just disappeared. Swept up in the wave, nowhere to be found, no matter how hard Chris looked or how many people he asked. He would see his Dad, finally, helping others out of the wreckage. “Where’s Buck, Daddy?”

And his dad would look at him, shake his head, and say “Buck left, son.” 

Those were the nights Chris woke up crying instead of screaming, but his dad rushed to his room anyway, holding him close and whispering reassurances. It was all a dream.

But Chris knew it was real. Some of it, at least. And that scared him most of all.

**

Buck sat on the couch next to Eddie, his arm over his boyfriend’s shoulder, his fingertips drawing little patterns on it.

They were watching a movie, some spooky Halloween flick Chris had picked out and promptly fallen asleep to. Buck was more interested in the man next to him.

“So...Chris went down pretty early. Should we take advantage?” He sent a suggestive sideways glance towards Eddie, only to notice the frown on his face. He took his arm down and turned to fully face him.

“Eds, babe, what’s wrong?”

Eddie sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

“He hasn’t been sleeping well. Chris. That’s why he fell asleep so quickly during the movie. Why I decided to just put him to bed instead of waiting until his bedtime. He needs the rest…”

Buck’s heart twisted and he felt guilty for not knowing, not realizing sooner that something was up.

“I’m sorry Eddie, I should have-” but Eddie cut him off. 

“I didn’t tell you. That’s on me, not you. I just didn’t want to burden you with this.”

Buck loved that Eddie knew what was bothering him, that he knew him so well. Still, he raised a brow. “Eddie, Chris is never a burden to me, and neither are you. Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

Eddie looked away from him and bit his lip. Finally, he answered. 

“He’s dreaming about the tsunami again. I didn’t want to bring that back up for you.”

Buck sucked in a breath, for a second hit by all the fear he’d felt at losing Chris that day. The gut wrenching panic, the hours of looking. The nightmares that had followed. 

But he blew out the breath slowly, as he’d practiced. Took a beat, and looked at Eddie’s miserable face. 

He took Eddie’s face in his hands and made sure Eddie looked him in the eyes. 

“Eddie. Love. I’m okay. I’ve worked through that, and I’m okay. You don’t need to keep things from me. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Eddie gave him a watery, wry grin. “I always worry about you, Buckley. Goes hand in hand with loving you.”

Buck rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. And I always worry about you, and about Chris. But this time I didn’t know there was anything to worry about.”

Eddie sighed and sat back against the couch cushions. “I’m sorry about that. I’m not entirely used to leaning on someone else for Chris.” He looked at Buck. “I’ll be better about it,” he promised. He took Buck’s hand and kissed the back of it gently. Buck’s heart unclenched, but only a little. He was still worried about Christopher. 

“I just can’t figure out why they’ve come back now,” Eddie said helplessly. “It’s been nearly two years since the tsunami, more since Shannon died.”

Buck raised a brow. “Eddie... it’s been almost two years  _ to the day  _ since the tsunami. The anniversary is next week.”

Eddie looked at Buck in shock. “That’s why…”

“Yeah,” Buck nodded. “My nightmares got bad this time last year. My guess is that last year he forgot, but something reminded him this year. Or maybe he’s still processing.”

Eddie looked distraught. “How do I help him, Buck? How do  _ we  _ help him?”

**

It wasn’t the first time Buck slept over, but it was the first since Christopher’s nightmares had started again. 

So Chris was worried. It was bad enough his crying woke his dad. He didn’t want Buck to be upset too. He stayed up as long as possible, reading a book on his iPad under the covers. But eventually his dad came to check on him and took the iPad away. “You need sleep, Chris. You’ve got school tomorrow.”

He’d kissed his forehead again, whispering, “I love you.”

“Love you too Dad. Tell Buck I love him too.”

So, though he tried his best to think of fun and exciting things to keep him awake, he drifted off.

He woke up with a scream, sitting up in bed. Someone was behind him, holding him, whispering in his ear, “It’s okay, you’re okay.”

After a few deep breaths, he realized it was Buck. He was still shaking, his heart still racing, but he calmed a bit. The last part of the dream he remembered was Buck being swept away. Knowing he was here, now, in Christopher’s room, brought him back to the present.

Buck leaned back, bringing Chris to lay on his chest. He stroked Christopher’s hair and continued murmuring, “You’re okay. I’m here.” 

Chris snuggled closer into Buck, breathing in the smell of his pajamas, washed with the same detergent dad used. It smelled like home. “Sorry Buck. I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Hey, buddy, that’s okay. You were calling for me. I’ll always come when you call for me.”

Chris tried and failed not to tear up at that, and hugged Buck tighter. “I didn’t want to scare you, or Dad. But I keep doing it.”

Buck continued to stroke his hair, but Chris felt Buck’s breath hitch. Then heard and felt a deep sigh.

“Listen Chris, I’m gonna tell you a secret, okay? Me and your dad? We’re always a little scared for you. It’s part of loving somebody, and taking care of somebody. Being a little scared. But it doesn’t mean we don’t want to know what’s going on, or that we don’t want to help you.” 

Chris nodded into Buck’s chest. “Like I was scared for you in the tsunami. And when you got sick and Bobby and Athena’s party.”

Buck cleared his throat. “Yeah buddy, like that.” He paused. “So, your nightmares? Do you want to tell me about them.” 

Chris thought for a moment. “Yes. I do.”

**

Chris settled into bed, smiling after the chapter of a new book Buck was reading him when he stayed over.

It had been a week since any nightmares had happened, and he finally felt calm and rested again.

Besides, Buck and Dad were down the hall. And that’s all he needed.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!


End file.
